Six Figure Blogger Interview – Manolo from ShoeBlogs

One of my favorite blogs to show people when they ask to give examples of innovative ways to use blogs to earn an income is Monolo’s Shoeblog. If you haven’t seen it before you really must go have a look – it’s a blog written by ‘the Manolo’ about shoes and celebrities. Odd topic? Yes and no – in fact the more I reflect on ‘the Manolo’ the smarter I realize that they are as its a blog that crosses two popular niches – shoes and celebrity.

The blog is written in the third person by ‘the (anonymous) Manolo’ who has a real cult following. The style of writing is quirky, fun and at times quite bizarre – but I (and many thousands of others) love it!

I’ve been emailing the Manolo off and on for a while now and have been hassling them for an interview – today my wishes came true. I decided to get into the third person spirit and do the interview in that style. The Manolo answers my questions very candidly and even tells us how much the Manolo earns from the shoe blog – you might be surprised just how lucrative shoes can be!

The ProBlogger – How did the Manolo get into blogging?

The Manolo – Ah, this it is the good question. The Manolo he had been blogging in the tiny small way for many years prior to the launching of the shoe blog, but it was always most unsatisfying because it was not about the Manolo’s true love, the shoes, and so the Manolo he finally decided to follow his bliss by starting the blog about the shoes and the fashion.

The ProBlogger – If you had to describe Manolo’s Shoe Blog in less than 15 words how would you do it?

The Manolo – Shoes, fashion, celebrity, humor and Manolo!

The ProBlogger – How long has the Manolo’s Shoe Blog been going? Does Manolo have other blogs or websites?

The Manolo – October 16th, it will be the first anniversary of the Manolo’s Shoe Blog.

The ProBlogger – Did the Manolo choose to start blogging about the shoes because Manolo loves the shoes or because Manolo saw a good way to make money from a blog through the shoes?

The Manolo – When the Manolo invented the shoe blog last year, it was simply the way for the Manolo to celebrate the beauty and glamour of the feetwears. Within the first month or two, however, the Manolo he began to recognize the commercial potential.

However, the blog of the Manolo it is not about the moneys. It will always first be the blog about the shoes and the fashion and the fun, not the blog about the *selling* of the shoes.

This person, Mr. Snitch, he has discussed the marketing aspect of the blog of the Manolo quite accurately (here and here).

The Manolo – As the Manolo has said on many of the occasion, the Manolo he is the flaneur.

The ProBlogger – What are the main ways that the Manolo makes income from the Shoe Blog?

The Manolo – In the order of importance, the affiliate sales of the shoes and the fashion, the contextual ads like the google and the chitka, the blogads, then the Amazon, and then the tshirts and the miscellaneous. This, of the course, does not count what the Manolo receives for writing his new column in the Washington Post Express.

The ProBlogger – Why does the Manolo write in the third person on Manolo’s blog? How do readers respond to this?

The Manolo – On many of the occasions the Manolo he has been asked about this, all the Manolo can say is that this it is the authentic voice of the Manolo.

The Manolo he is the Manolo, it is not more complex than this. And, of the course, the readers of the Manolo they react most favorably. One need only look at the comments section in his blog to see the response.

The ProBlogger – How much does the Manolo make from blogging?

The Manolo – The Manolo he is the six figure blogger.

The ProBlogger – What advice would Manolo give to new bloggers wanting to start making an income from blogging?

This it is difficult to do, because the Manolo’s blogging journey it has been so idiosyncratic. What he does it is not like what anyone else does.

Yes, since the Manolo invented the shoe blog, there have been started many of the shoe and handbag blogs, some of them very good. Yet none of them are like the blog of the Manolo, none of them have the particular combination of shoes, fashion, celebrity, and humor that makes the blog of the Manolo one of the more popular places in the blogosphere.

And so the lesson the Manolo he takes away from this for the new bloggers is to be aware that the large part of the mission of the blogging it is to entertain, and so you must write well, in the lively manner.

Do not be afraid to be different, in the fact, being different it is the advantage in the marketplace where there are fifty hundred new blogs on the topic you have chosen. Also, do not be afraid of the odd combinations of the topics, or of the peculiar view of the world, or the different way of approaching your subject as long as these things can be entertaining. Do this, and post faithfully everyday, and be generous with your links and with your readers, and your audience it will find you soon enough.

The ProBlogger – Do any of the Manolo’s readers know who Manolo is? What are the advantages and disadvantages of blogging anonymously?

The Manolo – Anonymous? The Manolo he is not anonymous, he is the Manolo.

Yes, the particulars of the Manolo’s existence they have remained hidden from the view of the public, and indeed it pains the Manolo to keep such the artificial distance from his many internet friends, but the readers of the blogs of the Manolo they know the Manolo, the real Manolo, very well.

The ProBlogger – What tools does the Manolo use to run the Shoeblog?

The Manolo – The Manolo uses the WordPress for the Shoeblog, and the Blogger for most of the other blogs, but only because he is too lazy to move the other blogs to the far superior WordPress application. This it is all he uses.

I’d like to thank the Manolo for the time and effort taken to answer my questions. You’re a truely remarkable and unique individual – thank you for sharing your story with the ProBlogger readers!

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I have loved the Manolo and his Shoe Blog for a long time. In fact, I named him as one of my 5 favorites on Blog Day. He is truly unique! I am not surprised that he is doing so well! It just goes to show that you need to be unique.

Ahhhh! The Manolo is hilarious!! I ran across his site awhile back when someone else mentioned it and have read it occassionally ever since. Not because I like shoes, but because I think the shoeblog is funny as heck, despite the fact that it is about shoes.

And bless him for his honesty about the money. I can believe that he stumbled his not-doubt well-shod feet into the lucre, but, still, one must appreciate the bit of the ready, no matter what your politics or writing style. As the hunter must thank the kill for giving up its life for his nourishment, the blogger must thank the dollar for providing the same service.

the lesson the Manolo he takes away from this for the new bloggers is to be aware that the large part of the mission of the blogging it is to entertain, and so you must write well, in the lively manner … Do not be afraid to be different, in the fact, being different it is the advantage in the marketplace where there are fifty hundred new blogs on the topic you have chosen.

Agree 100% with what The Manolo says. him, he a breath of fresh air in an ever-growiing bland blogging world – differentiate or die is what The Manolo (! can’t believe I’m getting into the spirit of this ;-) is essentially saying and while you’re at it … entertain us!

I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned this. But doesn’t Manolo seem eeriely similar to “Mango” from the Saturday Night Live skits? Perhaps, they are long lost siblings? cousins? Would make a great blog event to have a Manolo/Mango reunion!

FrenchBitch – you’d be surprised by how many pure-play blogging enterprises are starting to make serious money – and as DeiID said it’s not just from AdSense. A tight niche of affiliates, sponsorships and other income-earning avenues are quickly catching up to AdSense.

With my projections, I’ll get to 100k from my blogs in the next 6-9 months (all based on past projections and conservative future outlooks , of course) and I project only 15% will come from AdSense.

Sponsors and advertisers are after good quality, highly niche blogs to place their advertising/sponsorship dollars on – highly niche topic to a focused audience being to main word here.

For a self-styled (roflmao) fashion guru this Manolo sure has terrible taste. He should rename his blog ‘the safe, unimaginative, requires-zero-mental-acuity exercise in sartorial boredom BLOG for ditto monkeys’. And what’s worse is that people actually listen to him and proceed to sink into a blackhole of boredom and fashion oblivion. A bit like the agony aunt who gives anxious teenagers advice that an experienced adult would cringe at hearing. Prada? Please. A more cliched example of wannabe luxe cannot be found. You’re better off reading Vogue or something. Really.

I wonder how long before some of these blogs start becoming real print magazines. You can build subscriber lists, show that you have a niche unexplored demographic and presto – new magazine title…

Paul

wow…I dont know why people bother going to the shoe blog. It seems very boring and annoying at the same time. I guess people on the internet could be fooled easily by the use of simple techniques such as a third person point of view.

I absolutely love the Manolo. His blog is fantastic! Maybe I’ll grow up one day and emulate is savvy blog style. I have a shoe blog that is designed for women who specifically wear larger size shoes. I hope to be a six-figure blogger like Manolo very soon.

Monalo! This guy makes me so happy even i don’t in the position to smile but it happened on and on and on. You are just an intellectual nothing else and you can do any work you want to do. Awesome Blog.